What Games Can You Play on the Kindle?

The Amazon Kindle is a proprietary e-book reader equipped with a 6-inch black-and-white E Ink display, or, on the Kindle DX model, a 9.7-inch screen. Although the Kindle's primary function is to display e-books, it can also run applications downloaded from the online Kindle Store. These apps include free and paid games, and the device also has two games built into its operating system.

Gomoku

Gomoku is built into the Kindle's firmware, and is activated by holding down the "Shift" and "Alt" keys on the keyboard, and then pressing the "M" key. "Gomoku" is an abstract strategy game, which is often referred to as "Five in a Row." You are required to place a counter on any empty intersection on the game's grid, creating a continuous row of five horizontal, vertical or diagonal pieces. In addition, you must position pieces to prevent the other player from achieving their own row of five continuous counters.

Minesweeper

Minesweeper is a puzzle game built into the Kindle's firmware, accessed by holding down the "Shift" and "Alt" keys and pressing the "M" key. The objective in Minesweeper is to determine the location of hidden mines on a grid. A number is displayed when a square in the grid is selected, denoting how many mines are immediately adjacent to the selected square. The game is complete when all mines have been located without accidentally detonating any.

Scrabble

Scrabble was the first paid game available for download on the Kindle, released by Electronic Arts in December 2010. Scrabble is a word game requiring you to form recognized words from individual lettered tiles on a 15-by-15 grid. Points are scored depending on the letters used and the multiplier bonuses displayed on the board beneath the tiles. The Kindle version of Scrabble uses the device's keyboard and five-way controller to place tiles on the board.

Choose Your Own Adventure

A variety of Choose Your Own Adventure role-playing game books are available for download from the Kindle Store. These books are typically written from the second-person perspective, and allow the reader to make decisions that affect the direction of the story's plot. In many Choose Your Own Adventure game books, your character can die depending on the choices that are made, requiring you to start reading again from the beginning. These books often feature multiple endings for a single story.